PCC is a terrible college that is a travesty to the very concept of Christian education. Equally damaging is that the university is not accredited, which means you will have very little luck ever attending graduate school post commencement.

There are far better options out there for Christian education. I'd strongly advise people to consider either Biola University or Wheaton College as phenomenal, academically rigorous, and spiritually healthy universities.

PCC is a terrible college that is a travesty to the very concept of Christian education. Equally damaging is that the university is not accredited, which means you will have very little luck ever attending graduate school post commencement.

All of you are equating bad experiences you had back in the 90's and the 80's. Seriously?

I stumbled across this forum on a search in google. Quite frankly, most of you have got it all wrong. I am currently attending PCC for several reasons.

Did I want to attent PCC on my own? For the longest time, no. My parents iterated that it was going to be the only school they would ever pay for. This heavily weighed into my decision. I went to public school my whole life, so I was not too eager to go to PCC and put up with the rules there. I was under the illusion that there were pink sidewalks for girls and blue sidewalks for boys.

Several weeks before applying to PCC, I was accepted on a full ride appointment to West Point Military Academy. And I had a pending package to the Air Force Academy. I finished High School with a 4.0 GPA, so a lot of people thought I was stupid for leaving all of that and going to PCC.

But you know what? I would make that decision a million times over.
Every single post I have read on these forums is about "Me. My. I." It is all about yourself. Not once have I read here a critique about PCC where God was at the center of your life. If God is not at the center of your life, then PCC will turn into the worst place ever. To you.

When He is at the center of your life, everything else falls into place. This nonsense that you cannot find a job if you attend PCC? Absolute garbage. Nonsensical garbage!

There is a woman in the UNITED STATES CONGRESS who graduated from PCC. Guess what job I landed this summer? A full-time paid internship on Independence Avenue in WASHINGTON D.C. Over 2,000 people applied for these internships, and a little lowly PCC sophomore landed it. I wonder how that happened, since it is impossible to find work if you go to PCC... What a fallacy that is.

PCC has rules. No doubt. But guess what? There are rules everywhere you go in life. Traffic rules. Common Law. Joining the military? They have rules too! Did someone say that they couldn't get into Officer Training School with a PCC Degree? Wow, that seems funny because I have met ten+ guys this last year who are all now 2nd Lieutenants in their respective branches of service.

The point I am trying to make is this: If you are IN God's will, PCC can and WILL work for you. God is not going to "curse" you for going there and "putting up" with the college. Do I have problems with the college? Sure! Are there things there I don't agree with? Of course! Does that make it a "terrible travesty"? Absolutely not.

So those of you that read this, if you want an OBJECTIVE view from someone who is CURRENTLY attending the school, toss me a PM.

Have a good one.

Last edited by Foxtrot7777 on Mon Jun 21, 2010 5:10 pm; edited 1 time in total

I am a Pensacola Christian College student and I can proudly say that my college is not and should not be considered a cult. I am not a teacher, a floorleader, an APL, a PL, a row monitor, a chaperone, and I do not even go on the christian services on Saturdays.I have received 275 demerits in the three years i have attended PCC, and I in no way am what you would call "PCCish" or "involved" but I will stand up for what i know as a student is wrong.
Pensacola Christian College is not for everyone and the administration will tell you that. They do not force themselves down anyone's throat, you either choose to obey or not. I love that school, I am a Christian, and i do intend to finish my undergraduate degree in Sep. of 2010 to then go on to Law school at FSU(by the way they excepted my credits just fine:.)My boyfriend is a Pre-med major who intends to finish his undergraduate degree the same time and then also go to FSU for Med-school. The rules are being overexagerated and the devil is laughing because of people like you who try and mess up a good thing. I really hope God will do a work in your life and change your heart because if i had read this before i signed on to go to PCC i would not have gone, gotten saved, seen true example's of Christ, learned ample amounts about everything, or met the man i will one day marry...So to God be the glory I did not. Like i said before i am not the student that is on the brochures or the student that where's the "Catch the spirit pin" but i am a student and I can honestly say the things that you have raved about are problems that other universities wish they had. I am in no way "indoctrinated" i have some different doctrinal views than PCC but when i sit in chapel that never becomes an issue because they do not try to force a congregation of seven thousand people to believe anything. If you think you are helping anyone by posting this negative garbage you are wrong. Arlin Horton started that school with pure intentions and they are still running the school with those intentions. I will not even address the individual issues you have brought up because vengence is the Lords and he will take care of you and these seeds of deception your planting. By the way i went to public school in highschool so i would know if the education at PCC is "less than" or if the rules are to hard to handle, yes, as i said before i have had many demerits but the reasons i was given those demerits were good reasons. Scanning in from off campus late, playing my music loudly in town in my car, and wearing immodest clothing. By the way, a lady should dress appropriately especially in a world like we live in today. My mama always tells me that if my boyfriend can peek at the presents before the big day than on the big day he will not see anything new, the wedding night is the time that a woman can dress however she wants but until then your husband, my daddy, my grandaddy, and many other men are walking around having to see young girls hanging out and we expect them to still be attracted to their wives. (Let me add that that was only a scenerio.) When you lived in Pensacola i am sure things were different than they are now but it is a military town and the administartion wants to know we are safe and if we do scan in late from off campus the school will take action in order to make sure we are safe, my mama and daddy appreciate the bubble we PCC students sometimes think we are in. I went to Mobile one time my second year there and broke down on the way back and my cell phone died, i was scared and alone(against school rules) and made it to a phone and called the school only to find that they were already out looking for me, thank God they noticed i had not scanned in and knew where i had intended to go because of the "fast pass".Also, the "5 people to the beach" thing is a safety measure....tell the family that just almost lost a son to the beach last year that the school should have allowed him to go by himself, by the way those 4 other people drug his almost lifeless body from the water. Ohh and the reason i got demerits for playing my music too loudly in my car is because being that we students are not restricted to stay on campus we as CHRISTIANS not PCC STUDENTS should have a good testimony out there, and i was not portraying the values and standards a CHRISTIAN should have and keep. Keep you bad experience to yourself, my little sister just called you a "Drama Queen" and i think that pretty much sums it up. I truly do hope you get back on track because you are doing nothing but hurting yourself._________________Brittany

I think the style of the responses here by those in favor of PCC speak louder than anything; they come off as judgmental, legalistic, and generally unloving.

As a Christian, shouldn't your aim be to present a testimony that displays the love of Christ and your relationship with God...rather than just a bunch of things you don't do that make you different and therefore better than everyone else? Otherwise, what makes you any different than a Pharisee?

If these are the kinds of people that PCC manufactures, I sure wouldn't go there or send my children there.

And Brittany - for the record, I agree that if your husband gets a 'peek' before, it's not as special. However, I have been told this my entire Christian walk, and frankly I would like a better reason for purity and modesty than just to make my future husband happy. Should my future husband drive my moral decisions? Is my only significance to be found in how desirable i am as a potential wife? How about expressing the ways in which it is Christlike to maintain your purity, rather than this attitude of making sure you're a perfect prize for your husband? Because the way you see it...you're still reduced a piece of meat. Same as girls in bikinis - objectified. You're a covered-up piece of meat in this case, but a piece of meat none the less. I think Christ saw us with much more value than that, and THAT belief you have about why you should be modest is one of those biblically unfounded things that Christians like to call biblical without questioning it. THAT seems to be one of the problems people have with PCC.

I think the style of the responses here by those in favor of PCC speak louder than anything; they come off as judgmental, legalistic, and generally unloving.

Judgmental? Legalistic? Unloving?

Yet it is okay to just throw a blanket statement on the college and call it "a terrible travesty"? How is that loving? How is that not judgmental? How is saying that "it is impossible to get into grad-school post commencement" not legalistic?

You're grasping at straws there. I was simply defending my school from a very unfair analysis. An analysis that was backed up with no facts or examples.

The school is not for everyone, that has been made very clear. Everyone has different convictions, especially at PCC. Just because the administration believes a certain way does not mean that -everyone- at the school believes that way. Nor does every student come across as a "stuck-up, judgmental" christian that you are labeling every PCC student as. That, in and of itself, is judgmental, my friend. It's a stereotype.

It's extremely unfair. Anyone can stereotype about people going to any college. But I know what my Bible says, and I know what being at the school is actually like. God knows my heart, and He knows yours. If I have peace about going to PCC, what is wrong with that? Maybe you don't have peace about your kids going there. That doesn't give you a license to bash it and drag the school's name around in the mud.

So bash the school all you want, claim that everyone there is unloving and hates all the other Non-PCC-goers. That couldn't be any farther from the truth.

There is absolutely no point in degrading or belittling other Christians that are attending the school and happen to like it there.

You don't know the lives of these Christians. You don't know their testimony. You don't live with them day by day. Calling them Pharisees is pretty lame. Nice little "judgemental" snipe there.

So judge the "styles" of the responses all you want. God judges the heart. There are great, Godly people at that school who have devoted their lives to the cause of Jesus Christ, the Gospel, and winning souls. I don't see anything "loving" or "Christian" about judging the whole school over the internet.

For prospective students:

If you don't want to go there, don't go there. But don't judge something based on a few bad apples that PCC "manufactured." If you are interested in going, I suggest you visit. Most of the phantom fears and false accusations floating around on the internet and in various gossip circles would be put to rest if you decided to see it for yourself.

Don't get all caught up in the hoop-lah and the negative comments. Life is ultimately about walking like Christ, praying, meeting people everyday, and telling them about Jesus Christ. All else falls by the wayside, no matter what college you go to.

Wow, that fox person really summed it up....that is about what I was going to say, although I should apologize for sounding so carnal in my view of my purity. I do understand the pont of view of joyfulone, I did make it sound like the soul reason for purity is my husband's pleasure but believe me I mispoke. I know the reasons for purity and I am pure for those reasons and I dress in a fashion not only to not put stumbling blocks in my brother's way, but also because God makes it clear what he would have me do. I have been taught by not only my parents but also my college to obey God and for me to remain pure I would be doing just that. _________________Brittany

Sounds like PCC is the Christian version of a military school (as in, strict rules), so it's not surprising that some people feel comforted by the structure and a somewhat larger percentage just feel stifled. Read the posts, make your decision, move on. There's no need to flame others because they aren't looking for the same sort of college.

Wow, that fox person really summed it up....that is about what I was going to say, although I should apologize for sounding so carnal in my view of my purity. I do understand the pont of view of joyfulone, I did make it sound like the soul reason for purity is my husband's pleasure but believe me I mispoke. I know the reasons for purity and I am pure for those reasons and I dress in a fashion not only to not put stumbling blocks in my brother's way, but also because God makes it clear what he would have me do. I have been taught by not only my parents but also my college to obey God and for me to remain pure I would be doing just that.

I at one time believed similiar theology, based on what people taught me. At first, it appears very biblical.

However, the more you study scripture, the more you realize just how far off many of these strict colleges, churches, groups are.

For me, it was when I started to study the original languages of the Bible and saught to harmonize scripture on various topics.

If you start to truly seek God's Word, what you learn is, many of these constructs on "holiness" and "dress" have little to do with scripture.

I wrote an article here, discussing what the Greek actually says regarding modest apparel.

I have also written articles on many other topics.. Frankly, Jesus had a great deal of things to say against pharisee type rules and regulations. They often deny God's rules in the process. Man is prone through human nature to make rules where God has none.

When you actually seek the original meaning of scripture, in cultural context, you learn quickly, a lot of these groups pushing many rules are just social constructs based on erronious understanding of scripture (based on their own understanding).

I think also the word "purity" is thrown around a lot and people put a great deal of emphasis on purity based on many rules of men.. Such as not touching the opposite sex (a rules at PCC) or not listening to certain types of music (another rule at PCC).

However, music is only evil if evil is conveyed in it. As Jesus said, it is not what you put into your mouth that defiles a man, but rather, what comes out of the heart. Refering to works of the flesh. By works of the flesh, we refer to scripture, not PCC's rule book.

I believe many people will be shocked at what Jesus would indeed permit per scripture, compared to what many conservatives deem as "pure".

What teachers should wear is up to the school. Does the way you dress affect your mindset? Why do non-Christian work places and schools have dress standards?
I just want to say that PCC is changing. They now allow some CCM, in fact some students performed For Freedom from Avalon about a year ago for student body. Rejoice Music is going more country as well.
As a former student I want to say that they may have some standards still, but it is far less stricter then summer 2009. No one is allowed to tell on other students unless you are a RM ( which is a new name for floor leader). Women are allowed to wear sweat pants at the sport center for rock climbing and ice skating. Guys are allowed to pick up a girl if she falls. You can cell-phones around campus except for certain places where you need to focus 100% on the speaker. So all your complaints are being answered. Let it take some time. Once President Horton goes, the college will have less rules.

Thank you Susan for your posting. I too was homeschool through a beka and graduated at 16, I had the mercy of watching my sister attend APU college and my cousin Biola, before I decided that private college wasn't for me. My sister too signed a contract. She meet and dated at boy who was a pastor's son from one of our favorite churches. He manipulated her, and got her pregnant. She had no sexual education through a beka, and had no confidence to say "no". She had an abortion for fear of being kicked out of college. Now she has discovered that 60% of abortion are committed by people of religious backgrounds. The standards are to high, and girls give in and feel alone. I attended a local college in my home town. I still remember taking my first English Class, I tested in at English 120 (very high compared to standards). I had no idea what was going on. I had not read half the books others had read in the room. All my reading curriculum was "christian" based. George Orwell, Catcher in the rye, Nietzsche...etc. were definitely not part of my homeschool curriculum. Looking back at the a beka books I am appalled. One of my Junior high science books actually says "some people say" as a way to back up a theory. The more I research and delve into critical thinking, the more I have to realize that I am an atheist at heart. The god of the old testament don't make sense, Jesus might be several people combined over a long period of time (if he existed). I have a wonderful family and was raised in a safe home. My parents did what they believe was best for me, but now regret sending my sister to a private college. It is far more wonderful to look at other people and truly not judge them, or feel sorry for them because they're going to hell. I look at everyone as equals who are just trying to make their mark on the universe. Thank you again for your posting - Michelle

I'm a Chrstian.I was raised in a good Christian home, went to Christian school for 12 yrs, have gone to church my entire life, have Christian parents who have taught me right from wrong, and I've STILL made bad choices in my life. But the difference is, I don't blame my parents, church , school, friends, family or God. My mistakes are just that, MY mistakes.
I'm sorry that your experience was not a good one but, that doesn't not make it PCC's fault.
As a registered nurse, I've worked in quite a few places that I don't like. But I don't go on the internet blacklisting them because I know that my bad experience was due to the people that I worked with. It's unfortunate that we can't have a good experience everywhere we go, but place the blame correctly. People are not perfect. We're all sinners.
PCC I'm sure feels they're being strict for a good reason. This doesn't mean that everyone is going to agree, but even though we have freedom of speech, don't try to make them out to be evil.
You can try to apply the definition of "cult" to many things, but it doesn't make it so.
I believe if you have real issues with PCC, then go to them and discuss it with them. Be professional and reasonable. Don't start a war on the interenet and FaceBook.
And as far as not being a Christian anymore, well, if you were truly saved, then Jesus is in your heart for good.
Thank goodness, He doesn't reject us.
I've listened to your opinion, please listen to mine.

I'm a community college student (and an ABeka homeschool alum) and I just stumbled across this and would like to contribute my two cents worth. What shocked me as I read this post is the sheer number of people who have attended PCC and had their faith shipwrecked as a result. It's sad how many people had their spiritual lives turned topsy-turvy by PCC. To be honest, it seemed to me that the amount of people who had their faith shipwrecked by all the random rules that PCC enforces is probably worse than what I've encountered of Christians attending my community college.

When I graduated from homeschool, my parents offered me two choices: 1) go to community college and then transfer or 2) go to PCC because it was cheap. The Lord led me to community college, and looking back, I am grateful He did. Now, I've about to get an accredited associates degree and I will transferring to a Christian college next fall. I have gotten several acceptances and even a $12,000 scholarship offer due to my high GPA at community college.

Looking back, I should never have considered PCC, even if they were accredited, and I would strongly advise against going there. They are far too legalistic (too similar to the Pharisees and the Judaizers with their bazillion rules) and I can sense a "holier-than-thou" attitude to their approach. Granted, it's probably unintentional but that doesn't make it any less of a problem. I know by experience that that attitude spoils the testimony of Christians and the kingdom of God in front of the unsaved world.

Another problem with PCC is that they expel way too many people when they could help them grow in their faith and overcome problems in their lives. By comparison, the Christian college that several relatives of mine go to (Union University) has outlined specific procedures designed to mentor students who make mistakes (www.uu.edu/studentservices/accountability/values.cfm) but PCC would expel students for less. And please don't tell me that Union University has "compromised" by implementing these policies. Case in Point: God's hand of blessing is evident--just research the amazing recovery that God brought after an F4 tornado destroyed Union's campus in 2008. There is no need for a Christian college to expel students simply for breaking one of a bazillion petty unwritten rules to stay true to the Scriptures. That's legalistic, harsh, and unjust. Remember, Jesus broke many of the Pharisees' "rules" during his ministry and the Pharisees criticized Him for being unholy. PCC is making the same mistake the Pharisees made.

To any parent who may be reading this, my gut is that your kids may be better off at a community college than at PCC for their first two years, like me. I believe that God was watching out for me by leading me to community college instead of directing me to PCC. God has used my time at community college as a chance to step out in faith and serve Him (as opposed to being sheltered in a PCC-style bubble) as a transition into college and adulthood in a way that brought honor and glory to Him. It also helped me make my faith my own and I am a stronger Christian as a result. While I believe that most Christian colleges are great (there's several I would heartily recommend), I feel that PCC has the wrong approach.

A person's walk with God does not consist of rules and demerits for every little iota but by being " 'in' the world but not 'of' the world". Most Christian colleges seek to prepare students for life not by imposing a random rules to control every aspect of students' lives but by mentoring students one-on-one with deeply-committed and well-educated Christian faculty, with certain clearly-articulated and Bible-based rules and consequences to prevent clearly unscriptural behavior. My assessment is that this approach, which is typical of most of the CCCU schools, is a much wiser, productive, and God-honoring approach to higher education, and having done plenty of research on this I would highly recommend most of the CCCU institutions over PCC.